Ruthar[TK] Posted December 13, 2017 Author Report Posted December 13, 2017 Thanks, guys! 32 minutes ago, Justin96039 said: Great work! Want to build mine next? It's definitely fun enough that I'd do it again! Maybe a bit of a break after this one, though. 1 Quote
Ruthar[TK] Posted December 13, 2017 Author Report Posted December 13, 2017 Final Details  Vinyl Decals  With the painting now out of the way and the armour dry, it's time to move into the final few detail components before strapping. Up first are the vinyl decals. I didn't see any decals available for the KB Props kit specifically (you can find decals for the Anovos and Jim Tripon's FOTK's on Trooperbay), so I just cut out my own. I bought a roll of adhesive vinyl at the craft store and started cutting away.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  The following is the list of decals that I came up with after a lot of tedious measuring: Thermal Detonator 6 5/8" x 1 5/8" rectangle for the large rear rectangular section two 2" circles for the end caps Forearms two 7/8" squares for the front forearm boxes two 1 7/8" x 1/8" elongated ovals for the top underside detail four 1/2" x 5/16" rectangles with angled sides for the upper backs of forearms two 1" x 1/8" elongated ovals for the front top edge detail two 3/4" x 1/8" rectangles for the front "coin slot" detail 1 3/4" circle for the back plate circle two 3/4" x 1/8" elongated ovals for the handplates 3/8" square for ab box #3 7/8" x 1/8" for ab box #6 When I have some time during the holidays, I'll probably put all these into a vinyl cutter and stamp out some sheets if anyone else is interested. But, for the time being, at least this list will get you by!  Here's what they look like installed:  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Gaffer's Tape  Along with the vinyl decals, there are some details that need to be put on with black gaffer's tape.  1) The end of the thermal detonator cap that sticks out should house a 3/4" band of gaffer's tape. Simply loop it around the base of the protruding cap with the seam hidden in the back.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  2) The slots in the biceps and the shins need to be backed with some gaffer's tape. Tear off some lengths of the tape long enough to cover the holes from the inside.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  3) Then, in the center of each of these strips, place a smaller strip of gaffer's tape with the black side facing up.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  4) Then, stick the larger square face-down inside the armour with the smaller black square filling the cut out entirely.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  5) Do this for the biceps, both shins, and the center chest cut out.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  6) For the pill holes on the chest, we need to add a strip of mesh for accuracy. You can get an order of the perfect fabric from @ukswrath- he has a sales thread for it right over here. Thanks for sending that over so quickly, Tony!  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  7) To install, we are going to use the same technique with the gaffer's tape, but this time we will use a larger outside strip to accommodate both the smaller gaffer's tape strip as well as the pill hole mesh. Then, just tape it down against the set of holes just like all the others.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr Quote
Ruthar[TK] Posted December 13, 2017 Author Report Posted December 13, 2017 Final Details  Belt Finishing Touches  1) Now that the paint is done, it's time to affix the right side hanging boxes. JAFO's belt comes with two lengths of elastic and a pair of nylon plates. Poke two holes through the first/outer rubber layer of the belt and slip the elastic through both the belt and the nylon then back through.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  2) Using a good dose of super glue, glue the nylon plates down against the boxes to hold them in place.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  3) On the inside of the belt (between the first and second layers), firmly tie the elastic down with a double knot (or whatever kind of strong knot you prefer!).  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  4) Install matching velcro to hold the plastic panel to the larger rear pouch.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  5) Firmly press it against the pouch and in place.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  6) Time to glue down the faces of the front boxes. If you have a little wiggle room, I would recommend installing a shim to get the faces to fit more tightly.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  7) Run some super glue between the edges and push the box faces down tightly for a good seal.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  8) Install the faceplate to the second, large box. A good spread of super glue will do the trick.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  9) Center the faceplate against the box and press it down firmly and hold for a little while as the super glue sets.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  10) All the belt components are now complete!  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr Quote
Ruthar[TK] Posted December 13, 2017 Author Report Posted December 13, 2017 Strapping  Handplates  Now it's time for the last part of the build - strapping everything to fit the wearer. First up is the easiest part - the handplates.  1) Install a large square of velcro into the backs of the handplates. The gloves I got from Stormtrooper Undersuit already had velcro sewn into the backs of the gloves to match.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  2) Simply press the plates against the matching velcro on the gloves themselves.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  3) According to the CRL, the vinyl decal should line up with the forefinger, so make sure that is positioned correctly.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  4) The finished pair.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr Quote
Ruthar[TK] Posted December 13, 2017 Author Report Posted December 13, 2017 Strapping  Shins  To close the shins, I installed a strip of industrial velcro along the inside seam.  1) With a bit of painter's tape, mark off where the overlap occurs on the inner piece. This shows you where to install the first layer of velcro.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  2) Install one side of the velcro on the outside of the inner piece (against the painter's tape edge).  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  3) On the inside of the overlapping section, install the matching sister side of the velcro.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  4) Test the closure to ensure that it holds the shin piece closed.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Spats  1) To affix the spats to the shins in a way that both keeps them in place and prevents them from scratching against the shin armour, I used two strips of velcro placed against the front edges of the spat.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  2) I then lined these pieces up against the shin itself so the spat rests just below the ovular cutout at the base of the shins.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  3) To close the spats at the sides, I installed velcro between the underside of the greeblie and the indentation across the open gap of the spat.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  4) Here are the closed and installed shins and spats together:  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr Quote
Ruthar[TK] Posted December 13, 2017 Author Report Posted December 13, 2017 Strapping  Thighs and Suspension Belt  1) I decided to hold my thighs up the same way as I do on my OT TK - with a suspension belt. I went out and got a cheap stretchable belt at a nearby department store. Then, I used 1.5" nylon webbing to create a pair of loops to affix the thighs to the belt. (Do excuse my terrible sewing machine technique - it's a work in progress! )  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  2) Create a pair of double snap plates using 1" nylon webbing.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  3) Glue these plates into the front centers of the thighs. I found that an inch inward from the tip of the thigh's front was a great spot.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  4) Next, put on your undersuit as well as the suspension belt. Pull the thighs up to meet the loops. Then, use a piece of painter's tape to mark where the top of the thigh sits upon the loop. This allows you to lay the loop strap at the proper height during the next steps.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  5) Line up the loop strap centered over the snaps with the painter's tape flush with the top edge of the thigh as we previously marked. Mark the holes for the snaps that match the snap plate and install them. Now, the belt and the loops can hold your thighs in place.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr Quote
Ruthar[TK] Posted December 13, 2017 Author Report Posted December 13, 2017 Strapping  Abdomen  In order to better keep the abdomen sitting in the correct place, I decided to rig up a suspension system for it.  1) I used a trio of picture hangers in tandem with a set of suspenders to hold up the abdomen piece.  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr.  2) The teeth of the suspenders fit nicely into the picture hangers.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  3) I glued the picture hangers against the top edge of the abdomen armour with some super glue. One at the center of the back (on the first magnet support) and two at the front equidistant from the center line.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  4) Once dry, the picture hangers and suspenders do a great job at holding everything up.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  5) The suspenders, however, were too long to be effective (even when tightened all the way) due to how high the abdomen must sit. So, I folded the straps up and clamped them to get the right length.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  6) I carefully took the suspenders off and measured the distances between the clips and the end of the "Y" (it ended up being 11" from "Y" to clips for my size).  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  7) Finally, I cut out the extra fabric and reattached the suspenders to the appropriate lengths.  [picture needed]  Shoulder Bells  1) To strap the shoulder bells, start by installing a 5" length of 1" strap with a snap that matches each snap on the aluminum shoulder panels. Each strap should run through the slotted holes on the sides of the yoke.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  2) Slide the shoulder bells beneath the tabs. Mark hole locations on the straps as well as a mark on the shoulder bells to indicate where the matching snap plates need to go.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  3) Install upward-facing snaps on the shoulder straps at the marks made in the previous step. Be sure everything is where you want it - if you use snaps, you won't be able to slide the straps out of the yoke slots without cutting the straps.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  4) Install four 1" snap plates into the shoulder bells. I use just a bit of super glue for this and let the glue set for a few minutes. Once the plates are in, snap them to the straps and you're good to go.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr Quote
Ruthar[TK] Posted December 13, 2017 Author Report Posted December 13, 2017 Strapping  Cod  To strap the cod, I filled in the two notches at the front bottom of the abdomen plate with some elastic, installed some snaps, and let the cod hang with the ability to move around a bit.  1) Cut out a 4" length of 2" elastic. Then, mark off 1" on each side. At 1/2" from each corner, punch a hole in the elastic. Also, create two 1" x 2" ABS plates, round off the corners, and drill out holes that match up with those punched in the elastic.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  2) Use the ABS plates to create holes in the abdomen plate. Line up the edges of the plates with the open edges of the abdomen cut outs, then drill the matching holes.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  3) In the center of the elastic, install a rear-facing snap. Then, using rivets, install the pieces together in the following order: rivet head, abdomen plastic, elastic, ABS plate.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  4) Using a rivet gun, punch down the rivets to hold everything tightly together.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  5) Install a pair of 1" nylon snap plates on the cod piece that match up with the snaps in the elastic sections.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  6) Snap the cod piece in and you're ready to go.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Posterior  The posterior plate will be attached to the bottom edge of the kidney section using a pair of 3" elastic strips and snaps.  1) Install four snaps through the posterior armour through the holes previously drilled during the assembly process.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  2) Cut out two 5" lengths of 3" elastic.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  3) Install matching snaps along the lower edges of the two 5" lengths of elastic.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  4) Finally, install four 1" nylon snap plates into the lower edge of the kidney armour that match with four additional snaps at the top edge of the 5" elastic strips. These eight snaps will join the posterior to the bottom of the kidney section.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr Quote
Ruthar[TK] Posted December 13, 2017 Author Report Posted December 13, 2017 Strapping  Gaskets  Installing the gaskets is very simple. The marvelous gaskets I received have a 1" strip of velcro at the top and bottom of every piece, so all I did was install a matching strip of 1" velcro into the edges of the armour to hold them in place.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Knee Plates  To strap the knee plates to the gaskets, I used Tony's method from his TFA Anovos build thread.  1) Cut out two strips of scrap ABS. I round off the corners to keep the edges from snagging on the gasket material.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  2) Using a heat gun, bend the plastic into the same shape as the interior of the knee plates.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  3) Drill a pair of holes into the ABS plates wide enough to receive chicago screws. Then, make a mark on the gaskets that line up with the pair of holes in the plastic.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  4) Install the ABS plates through the gaskets with washers and chicago screws. I used a trio of washers between every layer to try to not allow the screws to tear through the gasket material.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  5) Install a piece of industrial velcro onto the surface of the ABS plates.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  6) Press the knee plate against the velcro to hold it in place.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr 1 Quote
Ruthar[TK] Posted December 13, 2017 Author Report Posted December 13, 2017 Strapping  Chest-Back-Yoke Connection  To connect the chest, back, and yoke sections, I just used a couple strips of industrial velcro.  1) Inside the chest plate, install 1" strips of velcro at the sides of the bottom of the chest plate. At the very top of the chest plate, install a pair of triangular cuts of velcro as well.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  2) The triangular cuts at the top of the chest plate line up with triangular cuts of matching velcro upon the yoke section.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  3) Here's a picture of how the yoke and chest velcro works - I pulled the pieces slightly apart so you can see how things line up.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  4) On top of the lower outside edge of the back plate, there is a 1" strip of velcro that matches the inside strip of the chest plate.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Abdomen to Belt Snaps  Finally, the last thing to do is install a few more snaps to get the belt to sit properly.  1) Glue a pair of 1" nylon snap plates just outside of the rivets on either side of the cod connection elastic.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  2) Through the innermost layer of the belt (just the nylon layer), stamp in a pair of snaps that line up with the snap plates you just installed.  by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  The rest of the belt should sit tight enough that no additional snaps are needed. The back of the belt should sit snuggly atop the upper edge of the posterior plate, so no snaps or velcro are needed there (as long as your belt was measured tightly enough against the abdomen/kidney armour earlier in the build). If not, feel free to add another few snaps or some velcro along the lower edge of the abdomen armour - no one will see anything beneath the belt, so you have a bit of freedom in attachment technique.  With that, we are done with the necessary strapping. Now to suit up for the full complement of pictures! Quote
Ruthar[TK] Posted December 13, 2017 Author Report Posted December 13, 2017 Submission Photos  With all the building and strapping now complete, it's time to kit up for some photos! Big thanks to my garrison mate Sean for helping out with the iPhone photography!  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr  Untitled by Taylor Goodson, on Flickr 2 Quote
Harbinger[IPM] Posted December 13, 2017 Report Posted December 13, 2017 That was fast! Happy trooping. 1 Quote
Ruthar[TK] Posted December 13, 2017 Author Report Posted December 13, 2017 Thank you, guys! Can't wait to put some miles on this one. Quote
Ruthar[TK] Posted December 13, 2017 Author Report Posted December 13, 2017 15 minutes ago, ukswrath said: Nice work Taylor Thank you, Tony! Your Anovos TFA thread was a huge help!! And thanks for sending the pill hole fabric so quickly, too! Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted December 13, 2017 Report Posted December 13, 2017 20 minutes ago, Ruthar said: Thank you, Tony! Your Anovos TFA thread was a huge help!! And thanks for sending the pill hole fabric so quickly, too! Glad to be of assistance Taylor, thank you for the kind words. Quote
Ruthar[TK] Posted December 15, 2017 Author Report Posted December 15, 2017 Very happy to say that the TFA TK ensemble has been approved! Â Making a few final adjustments this afternoon (which I'll post up soon) and then heading out for a weekend of The Last Jedi events. Enjoy the film, everyone! 1 Quote
ukswrath[Staff] Posted December 15, 2017 Report Posted December 15, 2017 Excellent! Congratulations Taylor 1 Quote
Ruthar[TK] Posted December 16, 2017 Author Report Posted December 16, 2017 (edited) Thanks so much, guys! Â First outing was a lot of fun. Got a nice shot with the boss: Â Â And managed a really neat picture that I like a lot - the three generations of troopers! Â Edited December 16, 2017 by Ruthar 2 Quote
First0rder[TK] Posted December 19, 2017 Report Posted December 19, 2017 On 12/15/2017 at 12:43 PM, Ruthar said: Very happy to say that the TFA TK ensemble has been approved!  Making a few final adjustments this afternoon (which I'll post up soon) and then heading out for a weekend of The Last Jedi events. Enjoy the film, everyone! Congratulations Taylor!!! Well done indeed! 1 Quote
Ruthar[TK] Posted December 19, 2017 Author Report Posted December 19, 2017 1 hour ago, First0rder said: Congratulations Taylor!!! Well done indeed! Thanks, Andrew! Quote
Anzo[TK] Posted January 22, 2018 Report Posted January 22, 2018 You sir are an inspiration! I'm working on a KB kit myself and will be using this for reference going forward.  1 Quote
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